Single-use multi-abrasive tool to decrease biohazard

ABSTRACT

A comprehensive cost-effective single-tool-per-job and single-use abrasive device used by aesthetic professionals for shaping and polishing the natural keratin plate or its artificial enhancements on the digits of the human limbs that eliminates the cost-per-use driven standard practice of reusing multiple tools which carries a risk of spreading biohazard contamination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND PRIOR ART

Devices for shaping and polishing the natural keratin plate or its artificial prosthetic enhancements are well known and have been taught in the Prior Art for many decades (U.S. Pat. No. 338,235, Broadhurst, 1886), thus many technical issues regarding tool construction and effectiveness have been long resolved. As is the common course of commercial and social progress, new issues have come to the surface; in this case the current and relevant issue is sanitation. In the Prior Art tools are shown us that are reusable after being subjected to suitable and often statutorily and regulatorily described methods of cleaning and disinfecting. Such tools must be constructed of generally more expensive materials selected for the ability to withstand cleaning (U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,981 Stephen s, 1997) and repeated use. Because of the potential for the transmission of disease, the reusing and sharing of tools is fast becoming unacceptable to aesthetic and medical professionals, and also to regulatory authorities and their constituents who are the ultimate consumer-customers of the described services. Both consumers and regulatory authorities in the marketplace have called for new protocols and standards of practice that do not involve the reusing of tools that contact the body so intimately, whenever and if at all possible.

Technicians performing the task of shaping and polishing the keratin plate or its artificial prosthetic enhancements (both referred to here as the Plate) use a variety of tools. Some of the tools are in the form of metallic scissor-like cutting devices which are used to give the Plate its basic outline. Once the outline is achieved, the Plate is further shaped and polished with abrasive tools. Some such abrasive tools are motorized but most are manually held and wielded. Of these manual devices, some are metallic in composition and acquire their abrasive qualities thru strategically patterned engravings in the metallic surface. Another class of manual abrasive tools acquire their abrasive qualities from the application of particulate matter via paint-like coating technologies to a sturdy substrate, which said substrate may be formed from a variety of materials such as wood, metal, plastic or dense foam. It is this latter type tool based on coated technologies that is the subject matter of this specification.

Shaping and polishing in order to achieve a desired result has long been taught in the Prior Art. Abrading occurs by rubbing the abrasive against the surface to be abraded, using an appropriate amount of pressure between the abrasive surface and the target surface. For the coated abrasives which are part of this specification, the rate at which the target surface is transformed and the smoothness of the finished surface depend primarily on particle size and distribution on the abrasive surface. Larger particles abrade more quickly but leave a rougher surface. If the desired effect is to have a very smooth or polished minor-like surface as the end result, then, typically, the shaping and polishing process requires a range or variety of abrasive levels, from very coarse to very fine, such as graded and described in the Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute (CAMI) Grit Designations. This means the complete shaping and polishing process will require the use of multiple coated-abrasive surfaces, each constructed with a different particle size which span a some range for larger to smaller sizes. Usually the initial shaping and removing of rough edges or surface topology is achieved with coarser abrasives made with large particles. As the subject surface begins to transform towards the desired end result, the abrasive surface typically selected for use is systematically stepped to increasingly smaller particles. The smallest and finest of particles produce the mirror-like reflecting quality of a highly polished surface.

The development of coated-technologies based tools for shaping and polishing the Plate has occurred over many decades, and there have been a variety of novel and even peculiar innovations, many which were never widely adopted by the marketplace. The design that came into common use is constructed by fixing a coated-abrasive paper with adhesive to a flat elongated substructure chassis which provides rigidity necessary for wielding the tool. Early on, it became common to see two levels of abrasive material, usually called “coarse” and “fine”, be applied to the opposing sides of the chassis. Original embodiments of this now common overall design and construction were based on a wooden chassis, but newer materials entered the Art such as plastic or compressed rigid foam. The selection of the chassis material has importance as to the desired level of flexibility versus rigidity of the tool and this has spanned a range, but perhaps more importantly selection of the substructure material relates to the issue of sanitation, because wood is deemed not suitable for cleansing as it is porous and thus potentially absorbent of biohazardous substances, and wood also structurally deteriorates when absorbing liquids. The substructure chassis in common use today often has the overall shape of a common popsicle stick, however there are many variations of its dimensional outline, both in shape, size, and thickness.

The Prior Art shows us two innovations to the now common general design and construction of the tool, which is a coated-abrasive paper adhered to a substructure chassis, and they are: 1. the addition of layers of resilient material, usually foam of various thicknesses and densities, sandwiched between the coated-abrasive paper and its chassis and applied symmetrically to both sides of the substructure chassis core; 2. newer manufacturing methods permit placing two or more abrasive levels on a single side of the substructure chassis. These developments and the need for increased vigilance in sanitation leads us closer to our invention.

In general practice today it is common for coarser abrasives with firmer underlayment to be used for fast abradement in shaping the Plate, whereas finer abrasives with the previously mentioned resilient underlayment are used to impart a high polish to the finished surface. Since these configurations of materials are not typically mixed on a single device, it is conventional practice for the professional to use more than one abrasive tool. Economics dictates that the tools be sanitized and reused because competitive pressure keeps the price that may be charged for these professional services relatively low. Using multiple tools each only one time that are also relatively expensive would be prohibitively costly. Thus the current generation of professional grade tools are designed to be reused after cleaning and disinfecting to lower per-use cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With these and other objects in view the invention relates to design of an economical single-use/single-tool-per-job abrasive device enabling cost-effective sanitary practices by aesthetic professionals in the practice of their business. The invention consists in the features of construction, selection of materials, combination and arrangement of parts as to make an economical and effective single abrasive device replacing multiple tools that are cleaned and reused. More particularly the tool is an all-in-one instrument for shaping and polishing the keratin plate and its artificial prosthetic enhancements, combining the features of various existing tools, with the selection of materials and specific construction details as to effect a more economical per-use solution. The tool will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which discloses the preferred forms of the invention, and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device of the present invention in its preferred embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the device in FIG. 1, the opposite side being identical.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an alternate embodiment of the bottom plan view of the device in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an alternate embodiment of the bottom plan view of the device in FIG. 1 wherein the device has also been elongated.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a device of the present invention in an alternate embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a device of the present invention in an alternate embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along line 40-40 of FIG. 8

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view of another three-sided embodiment of the device in FIG. 8

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The drawings in FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4. show as device 10 a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is constructed of an inner core 21 with layers of resilient materials 20 and 22 adhesively applied to the two opposing primary surfaces of said core, whose bonding thereby creates a functional supporting chassis providing two flat longitudinal faces for mounting selected coated abrasive materials 31 through 39 that are adhesively applied in a plurality of segments as the exterior working surfaces of the invention. The inner core 21 may be made of plastic, wood or other material which are chosen based on a continuum of longitudinal rigidity versus flexibility for various embodiments of the device which are needed to suit marketplace requirements. The resilient layers 20 and 22 may be made of cellular foam or rubber-like materials. The resilient layer 20 will be significantly thicker dimensionally, typically 5 to 8 millimeters, and also be more resilient and cushioning than the material of layer 21, which will be typically 3 millimeters or less in thickness and is selected to be more firm and provide a taut working surface for more aggressive abrasion.

The coated abrasive materials 31 through 39 shown throughout the drawings in FIG. 1 through FIG. 10 span a wide range of abrasive levels from coarse to ultra fine, as said levels are described by the published guidelines found in the Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute (CAMI) Grit Designations. The range of abrasive levels placed on the more resilient layer 20 will typically range from lower levels of very fine to ultra fine, so designed to provide the finishing and polishing operations. The range of abrasive levels placed on the less resilient and relatively thinner layer 21 will typically range from coarse to lower levels of very fine, so designed to provide quicker removal and shaping of the material being abraded.

The drawing in FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment of the bottom plan for the invention in device 10, wherein the abrasive segments have been reduced to two.

The drawing in FIG. 6 shows an alternate embodiment of the top plan for the invention wherein the device 10 has been elongated and the abrasive segments have been increased to four. The bottom plan will look similar but with different abrasives.

The drawing in FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of an alternate embodiment wherein the inner core 21 of the preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 has been eliminated and its structural function has been replaced by substituting material layer 22 from the embodiment in FIG. 1 with a thicker and more rigid foam-like material 25 which is itself adhesively bonded to the cushioning material 20 to form the required structural chassis for mounting the working abrasive surfaces.

The drawing in FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of an alternate embodiment wherein the inner core 21 and resilient layers 20 and 22 of the preferred embodiment as shown in of FIG. 1 have been substituted by a variable density foam material 41 shown in FIG. 9 that forms the structural chassis for mounting working abrasive surfaces 31 through 39 and simultaneously provides the required contrasting backing for both the cushioned resilient surface and the firmer taut surface that is part and parcel to the specification of the present invention. The drawing in FIG. 9 shows a cross sectional view taken along the line 40-40 of device 10 of FIG. 8. revealing the variable density foam chassis in the embodiment shown in FIG. 8. The drawing in FIG. 10 shows a cross sectional view similar to the view in FIG. 9 of a possible three-sided embodiment of the item in FIG. 8.

Since each individual shaping and polishing job will have varying requirements, there will be multiple embodiments, for example: some jobs will require complete reshaping of the Plate, some mere refinishing; some surfaces to be abraded will be harder than others; individual operators will have personal preferences and individualized methodologies. While multiple embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein, various other modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, and all such modifications and equivalents are intended to be covered. For instance, the device can have a variety of geometrical shapes, colors and color combinations, a varying selection of abrasive levels, and a varying range of cushioning, and a varying range of longitudinal flexibility. 

1. An abrasive device for shaping and polishing the keratin plate or its artificial prosthetic enhancements, comprising: a narrow elongated chassis, rigid to semi-rigid depending on the embodiment, which provides two or more flat longitudinal faces (sides) for adhesively mounting the working exterior abrasive surfaces; and a range of said exterior abrasive working surfaces from coarse to ultra fine (using the Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute Grit Designations); with at least one flat longitudinal face that is relatively firm and taut with minimal or no cushioning underlayment for the abrasive surface(s) and with the abrasive qualities of said firmly-backed surface(s) ranging from coarse to lower levels of very fine; and at lease one flat longitudinal face that is cushioned with one or more layers of resilient and contour conforming material underlaying the abrasive surface(s) and with the abrasive qualities of the resilient-backed surface(s) ranging from medium to ultra fine; and where the range of abrasive levels combined with both a firm and a resiliently contouring surface in total provides the necessary apparatus for completing the shaping and polishing operations required to achieve the level of finish so desired.
 2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the supporting chassis of various embodiments of the tool spans a range being rigid to semi-rigid as suits the wide variety of individual job requirements and personal preferences of the operators; and the supporting chassis may be constructed from a variety of common materials and new materials as they are made available.
 3. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the supporting chassis is a layer of wood, plastic, metal, or high-density compressed foam, with the thickness of the material chosen in relation to the natural stiffness characteristic of the material so as to achieve the desired level of rigidity or semi-rigidity as required by the individual embodiment of the device.
 4. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the supporting chassis is varied-density compressed foam, with the range of density levels chosen so as to achieve the desired level of rigidity or semi-rigidity as required by the individual embodiment of the tool and also provide the cushioning required for the resilient face of the device.
 5. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the abrasive surfaces provided on any individual embodiment will span a range of abrasive levels from very coarse to very fine as necessary to complete the shaping and polishing operations; and said abrasive surfaces on any individual implement will reflect the various embodiments whose abrasive qualities are adjusted to accommodate both the potential range of hardness of the abraded surfaces likely to be encountered, and the personal methodologies and techniques of the operator-technicians.
 6. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein: as the device is designed for single use, the materials chosen for construction are weighted more for their lower cost than is permitted by tools intended to be cleaned, sanitized and reused; and said materials are not constrained by their being exposed to liquids, including water and/or disinfectants, used in the cleansing processes required for safely reusing the tool; and said materials are not constrained by the need for extended durability required of a tool designed to be reused multiple times.
 7. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein: the cost-per-use achieved by providing both the firm-backed and the cushion-backed multiple exterior abrasive surfaces required to complete a satisfactory operation in a single-use/single-tool-per-job device so constructed with economically selected materials cost-effectively solves both the abrasive and sanitation requirements. 